True design blends form and function. Charles and Ray Eames were among the great 20th Century American designers who conquered design challenges in almost every product available: buildings, furniture, games, toys, etc.

I’ve driven over the Yolo Causeway countless times between Davis and Sacramento, California. While I’ve enjoyed the car and walking tours at the nearby Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area, unfortunately I have not yet crossed it on foot or pedal.

By most accounts, it’s very unpleasant because of the wind, noise, and exhaust. However, if I could stop for a few moments to enjoy the middle ground between freeway and nature (sort of), the trip might actually be worth it.

It is official… cars and their traffic will return to Sacramento’s former K Street Mall. And to celebrate, the City of Sacramento is celebrating with a parade on 12 November 2012 (4PM to 9 PM PST), which perfectly coincides with this month’s Second Saturday.

Long Time Coming

It has been a long time coming for K Street Mall. A pedestrian mall was a great idea for the corridor decades ago. It did not work for various reasons.

The most significant reason would be sprawl. Sure, shopping malls had impacts, but when more people lived outside of the Central City than inside, there really was too much competition.

A lack of downtown residents did not help either.

While that may seem obvious, given how much money the City of Sacramento pumped into reviving K Street Mall through the decades, there was definitely a lack of consistency in policies as City Councils continued to approve new fringe development (think Natomas and thankfully not Greenbriar) while also trying to spur downtown economic development–two conflicting policies indeed.